Statistics Explained

Glossary:Enterprise birth

An enterprise birth occurs when an enterprise (for example a company) starts from scratch and begins operations, amounting to the creation of a combination of production factors with the restriction that no other enterprises are involved in the event. An enterprise birth occurs when new production factors, in particular new jobs, are created.

Enterprise births do not include:

  • dormant enterprises being reactivated within two years;
  • new corporate entities being created from mergers, break-ups, spin-offs/split-offs or the restructuring of enterprises or a set of enterprises;
  • the entry into a sub-population resulting only from a change of activity.

The enterprise birth rate of a given reference period (usually one calendar year) is the number of births as a percentage of the population of active enterprises.

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Statistical data